, Columnist
Meituan’s IPO Could Leave Investors Hungry
The Chinese food-delivery giant's core business can't seem to make money.
Tough competition in China’s food-delivery market means that Meituan Dianping doesn’t make any money on its core business.
Photographer: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images
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Meituan Dianping wants to be everything to everyone: It even describes its mission as “helping people eat better, live better” in its preliminary IPO prospectus.
With these broad ambitions, the Chinese food-delivery giant is sounding out investors for a valuation of $45 billion to $55 billion. Its plans to raise up to $4.5 billion in a Hong Kong IPO would make it one of the world’s largest floats this year.